1. Field
The present disclosure relates to a vehicle luggage compartment structure having a storage recess that stores a spare tire on a floor surface in a luggage compartment in a vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
Vehicles are conventionally provided with an emergency-use spare tire that is used when a fitted tire becomes punctured. Examples of such a spare tire include a temporary tire smaller than the fitted tire and a full-size tire, such as that used in foreign countries, (hereinafter referred to as “driving tire”) that has the same size as the fitted tire.
For example, a vehicle spare tire board fixation structure disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Registration Application Publication (JP-UM-A) No. 3-73277 is known as a structure that allows two types of spare tire, namely, a temporary tire and a driving tire, to be stored in a vehicle.
Such a vehicle spare tire board fixation structure stores a spare tire in a spare tire storage recess (recessed area) provided in a floor surface in a luggage compartment (trunk) and is closed off with a lid. When storing a small-sized temporary tire in the storage recess, the lid is placed on a horizontal supporting member provided above the storage recess and is supported by a vertically adjustable bracket provided above the storage recess.
In the case where a driving tire is stored in the storage recess, the driving tire is wider than the temporary tire, causing the horizontal supporting member to be raised up by the increment in width. For this reason, when luggage is placed on the front part of the lid, the rear part of the lid is raised. Such raising of the lid is prevented by holding the lid with the bracket that is moved upward and secured to the upper part of the storage recess with a winged screw.
The vehicle spare tire board fixation structure described in JP-UM-A No. 3-73277, however, has a problem in that the bracket for locating the lid at upper and lower positions is disposed at a visible position above the storage recess, which degrades the aesthetically pleasing appearance of the luggage compartment.
In addition, a winged screw is used to secure the bracket to a rear wall above the storage recess in the luggage compartment, resulting in the screw's head portion projecting from the rear wall, which raises concerns about contact of the head portion with luggage.